Than Shwe

Than Shwe (born 2 February 1933) was the head of state of Burma from 1992 to 2011 (succeeding Maung Aye and preceding Thein Sein), Prime Minister of Burma from 1992 to 2003 (succeeding Saw Maung and preceding Khin Nyunt) and Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw from 1992 to 2011 (succeeding Saw Maung and preceding Ming Aung Hlaing). He was known for brutality in his suppression of human rights and Karen rebel groups among other groups, and in 2011 he chose Thein Sein as his successor.

Biography
Than Shwe was born on 2 February 1933 in Kyaukse in British India, now a part of the Upper Burma region of Burma-Myanmar. In 1953 he graduated from Officer Training School and became an officer in the Tatmadaw army of Burma, and in 1958 he specialized in PsyOps. In 1985 he became the Vice Chief-of-Staff of the Tatmadaw and took part in the suppression of Karen and Burma Communist Party uprisings in addition to many other rebel organizations. In 1992 he became the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, effectively becoming the head-of-state of Burma; he was also made the Prime Minister (head of government) and the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw. Than Shwe sent as many as one million Burmese to gulags and crushed the right to freedom of speech and he was also held responsible for the mass execution of protesting Buddhist monks in 2007 and burying them in unmarked graves.

In 2009, he was rated the fourth-worst dictator on Earth on Parade Magazine and the second-worst on Listverse. In 2011 he chose Thein Sein as his successor and resigned from power after 19 years of having control over Burma.